


Have You Seen My Brother?

by therebaeka



Series: Morgan's Questionable Decision in Fates [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, im still mad at those suicidal green units okay i had to reset my game for those aholes, kind of, morgan in hoshido, morgan makes questionable decisions but its okay, she's winging life okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:11:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therebaeka/pseuds/therebaeka
Summary: Listen, the man was huge and Morgan was small. He was even wearing a striking red armor and she wondered if he was a knight like Sir Frederick is. So, really, forgive her for running her mouth off because he reminded her of a dear friend of her parents.“I’m looking for my brother, have you seen anyone who looks like him?” She said. “He’s about a head taller than me but obviously not as tall as you because whooo boy you are a hecking giant.”---In Which Morgan makes more questionable life decisions.





	Have You Seen My Brother?

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be an Owain & Morgan sibling story but Olivia and Robin and Inigo just reminded me why they're a fam.

Whenever Morgan does anything stupid, she inwardly wonders whether she could top it. She always end up topping it.

Two months have passed since she wound up begging Lady Tiki for help and running head first into a swirly portal before falling into this new world. She learned all she could from her travels while she searched for her brother. She had even managed to secure an identity and fake a past for herself during her first few weeks in this world.

And Lucina said she was a reckless idiot who couldn't survive without her brother or her friends. Hah.

Morgan had fallen near the Kingdom of Izumo and she had wandered their land for days, battling brigands before she found herself collapsing in a village due to both exhaustion and hunger. That event was fortune smiling down at her. She managed to get her backstory, her identity, and footprints out there.

Her name was now Mao and she was from a traveling mercenary family. Unfortunately, she got separated from her family on one mission and that was how she found herself on their village. She managed to get a sob story out and gain enough pity points that the village helped her by giving her a couple golds, warning her of the current warring state of the continent, and establishing an identity so she can travel without much suspicion.

She was also lucky enough that her foreign features didn’t brand her with as much suspicion as they would have another person.

As Lucina says, Morgan may be a reckless idiot but her impulsiveness and stupidity paralleled to her unbelievable luck.

That was how Morgan managed to travel from one village to another, get gold by being a sellsword (selltome?), and search for her brother.

But alas, her impulsiveness made its way again when she crossed the borders to Hoshido and she was travelling from village to village asking if anyone has seen her brother,

She blamed it on the lack of food in her stomach. She was asking people if they’ve seen or met anyone matching her brother’s description when a man with what seemed to be a guard or two with him stopped her to ask what was wrong.

Listen, the man was huge and Morgan was small. He was even wearing a striking red armor and she wondered if he was a knight like Sir Frederick is. So, really, forgive her for running her mouth off because he reminded her of a dear friend of her parents.

“I’m looking for my brother, have you seen anyone who looks like him?” She said. “He’s about a head taller than me but obviously not as tall as you because whooo boy you are a hecking giant.”

“Why you--?” One of the guards said but the man raised a hand to stop him.

Oh, so he was probably a noble. Great.

Morgan continued running her mouth off. “Not that that’s bad. I wish I was tall but my genes doesn’t really let that happen, you know. I don’t think even my brother could be as tall you. That’s pretty cool in my opinion. Anyway, my brother’s got a mop of dark hair that makes him looks like he doesn't brush his hair but he totally spends 30 minutes on them. He's till handsome in my opinion. Although that probably sounds biased since I’m his sister. He’s a mercenary - a swordsman. He’s absolutely great with a sword. And this time, it’s not because I’m his sister. He’s not really one easy to be overlooked, you know. He catches the attention of the room easily.

“He has a really great smile. Everyone says so. He makes people smile and laugh no matter what. Although that sometimes gets him in trouble a real lot. He likes to flirt a lot but when you flirt back he flushes red and it’s really funny. He gets red from neck up and he stammers a lot. Anyway, have you seen or met anyone like that at all?” And she finally took a breath. She looked up to stare at him with expectant eyes. She saw flabbergast reflecting in his eyes.

“Milord, w--” The guard was about to say something when Morgan interrupted him.

“Oh and he’s got a scar on his lower lip but that’s not really obvious at first glance.” She said, cocking her head at the side. “And um, what else?” A pause. “He wears an earring similar to mine,” she showed him hers. “And you know, I wonder if you’ve heard of someone like him?”

“I am afraid I have not met anyone of your… ample description.” The man replied.

Morgan gave out a sigh of dejection before slapping herself out of that train of angst. She gave a smile to the man and his entourage. “Thanks for your time, anyway. Bye.” And just as she walked away and heard sputterings behind her, she could hear inside her mind her mother’s voice chiding her about manners. She spun back on her heels and remembering how the Izumites bowed, she put her hands on her lap and gave a shallow bow.

When Morgan turned back and skipped to wherever her feet may take her, she felt a shiver run down her back. It was as if the wind was telling her she needed to jot down another thing on her list of dumb and/or impulsive things she’d done. Her inner Inigo took note of that.

\---

Another two weeks have passed without any good news in regards to her wayward brother’s location. She has half a mind to just shout his name in every village just to see if he’ll answer.

Morgan has been asking every village maiden if they’ve encountered a smooth talking casanova. She even went around asking if they’ve also encountered a man shouting grandeur things of heroism and darkness. Surely, even if they’d overlooked her brother, Owain would catch their attention. Her friend certainly had the confidence and aura to do so.

Yet the answer remained the same: they didn’t know anything. A part of her wanted to ask if they truly not know anything or they just don’t want to answer a foreigner like her.

Morgan was staying at an inn of a village in Hoshido. She didn’t know where her precise location is but she mapped out her travels in her notebook. In the months she’d been in this world, she managed to cross off dozens of villages in her list. She wondered if going to the capitol would get her more answers. Maybe her brother went there and managed to secure a way to be the hero he was going to be.

She was taking a break from her search by eating lunch in a tavern. It was a rather nice tavern, not dirty nor loud. Not many people were in there. There was a travelling family resting their tired legs and some workers inside the tavern. They were with her lounging around the hall.

That was when she heard the loud noises.

Morgan’s eyes narrowed and her hand slips down to the Levin Sword by her side. She had recently bought a new batch of tomes after her last ones untimely destruction while she fought bandits. Those tomes had put a dent on her money and she was saving those tomes for more action packed battles than the usual bandits.

“What's going on?” She asked outloud.

The owner of the tavern furrowed his brows before answering, “It's probably just children running amuck.”

But his words were found untrue by a middle aged man carrying a child running inside the establishment in a flurry.

“What's going on?” A gasp from the mother was heard as she stared at the wounded man and child.

“Nohrian army.” He gasped out. “They are attacking the village. We need to leave now. It isn't safe anywhere. They're pillaging our homes.”

Then there was panic. The family stood quickly and rushed to carry all they can - the children and their packs. The owner crowed for them to hurry as he opened the backdoor.

“No! Papa, we have to go back!” The wounded child cried out. “Mama is still back there.”

“Hush, Saki,” The man patted the child's back and pushed forward to hide. “Mama will try to follow us or hide elsewhere.”

“No!” The child cried. “Mama! Mama!”

And a young boy with the family seemed to be a sympathetic crier. He started crying too.

“Oi! Tell the kids to quiet. Do you want Nohrian scums to find us?” The tavern owner growled.

“Shh.” The parents were shushing their children.

Morgan gripped her sword tight as she listened outside their range. Their group  were currently being pushed beyond a trap door inside the back of the tavern.

Morgan’s attention was caught when rough hands pulled her. Her eyes narrowed and she pulled back.

“Brat!” The tavern owner, who tugged at her, glared. “Do you want to die? Get inside now!”

Morgan listened to the sound of cries and ravage outside.

“It's all right.” She smiled, patting the larger man. “Hide inside. I'll make sure no one gets anywhere near here.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Don't worry, I'm a mercenary. I'll protect you and won't even charge a dime. I know what I'm doing.” And with that, Morgan ran back to the crazed war torn streets.

In the back of her mind, she heard her brother's voice adding a note in the list of dumb and/or impulsive things she'd done.

\---

“I did not think this through.” Morgan muttered under her breath as she cast an Arcfire spell to her left. She angled her side to dodge a javelin that a soldier threw and casted another arcfire at his direction.

“Too many.” She growled, equipping her sword and stabbing another soldier that tried to attack a villager.

The villager, a teenage girl, cried out in relief. “Hurry and hide inside. It's too dangerous out here.”

The girl scampered to hide.

Morgan sighed in relief. She managed to get handfuls of villagers to hide already. Too many lives have been lost enough. She carried the injured and didn't leave anyone behind.

‘Save one person and then you'll know what to do next.’ Lord Chrom’s voice rang inside her head. ‘Don't belittle that one life you save.’

Her relief was cut short by an arrow to her shoulder. She roared in pain and then spun to see the archer that hit her try to duck behind a building. Her eyes narrowed and familiar spell danced on her finger as she gripped her tome.

“Arcfire!” She growled.

A huge explosion racked the land. When the dust settled, she sighed and leaned to a wall. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the arrow on her shoulder. She swallowed the scream that tried to rip out her throat as she pulled the arrow out.

“Naga that hurts!”

She fumbled her side pouch to get the vulnerary. She poured the bottle on her side, watching as the skin knitted itself back. She sighed in relief as she feels her energy recovering. She slumped down.

Morgan was not new to pain or injuries. But arrows were a weakness to her. She remembered how she'd almost died when she was a Dark Flier via an arrow. It was only thanks to her Mom (who was a swordsmaster and can astra everyone's asses, thank you very much) that she survived. Archers and their arrows were evil in her opinion. Lady Sumia almost lost Cynthia when she was pregnant because of Archers. Archers almost killed her brother when they'd surrounded him - he was only saved thanks to Lucina’s speed and Lissa’s healing. She was definitely wary of them. Archers were evil.

In her relief, she missed another archer aiming for her.

“Watch out!” A loud voice echoed.

Morgan flinched and she rolled, hand gripping her previously injured shoulder. An arrow flew past her, a hair's breadth away from her person. She panted, fingers dancing the pages of her tome and she opened her mouth to cast the spell when her eyes caught the red figure that saved her life.

The man was huge, wearing a red armor and brandishing a sword that crackles. There was something familiar about the man. But whatever her thoughts were was cut short by the sight of a soldier armed with a javelin aiming for the man. She ran beside him and casted a quick arcfire spell. The screams of pain and smell of burning made her grit her teeth.

“Are you all right?” The man asked.

She nodded her assent. “I'm all right. You're not here to ravage the village, are you? I'm not really fond of attacking my savior.” Her eyes were focused on him as threw the arcfire tome down. Its pages were all used. She blindly reached for another tome, ready to fight.

“I believe that it should be me who asks that question.” The man said. “I am part of the cavalry to free this village. The rest of my men are around the village battling Nohrian soldiers. Who are you?”

Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “I am a mercenary and tactictian. It would seem that I've been doing your job, good sir. You're quite late.”

“And you were out of your depths, mercenary.” The man in red said. “You could barely move when I had to save you. Let us reach a compromise. Help me protect this village.”

Morgan raised a brow. “What do you think I've been doing? Getting hit by archers for fun? And who in Naga’s name are you?”

The man in red responded, “I am Ryoma. The message that Nohrians were to attack this village came too late. I thank you for your service. May I get your name, mercenary?”

“I am Mao, and its mercenary tactician, actually.” She said, eyes moving to the side and adjusting her weapon. “And we are about to be surrounded.”

Ryoma shifted. He was ready to fight as well.

“Nice meeting you, Ryoma.” She said. “Do me a favor and survive this wave of soldiers.”

“Likewise, mercenary Mao.” Ryoma said.

"Mercenary tact -- you know what, fine." She sighed.

And the two of them dashed forward, weapons ready to fight the incoming soldiers.

\---

Morgan observed how the man, Ryoma, fought near her. He was either wary of her or thought her to be weak. He better be wary of her or else she'd punch him.

“Thunder!” She called forth the spell and stopped an archer from releasing an arrow at Ryoma.

He was quick to adapt with the situation. He spun around and dashed to slash the offending soldier.

“Well, now,” She grinned. “You're not so bad, aren't you?”

“I might say the same, mercenary Mao.” He said.

“It's just Mao, you know.” She said. “I’ve been calling you Ryoma for a while now. You ought to give me the same courtesy in using my name.”

The two of them walked around the torn village. They were looking for the leader of the Nohrian soldiers. They were sure that none of the minions remained but one of Ryoma’s men informed them that the leader was still alive. Speaking of his men, she was informed that their numbers were only around 6. They were off saving villagers.

Ryoma opened his mouth and her brows rose at his question, “You don't remember me, do you?”

“What?”

“You,” he said. “We met two weeks ago, in another village.”

“We… did?” Morgan tried to remember him. Yes, he was familiar but she'd been travelling all over Izumo and Hoshido for months now. She might have just passed him by a street or--

“Shit.” Her eyes widened. “You're that nice noble in the village down east, aren't you? The one I called hecking huge and with like, lots of guards. What the heck are you doing in this place? And where the hell are all those guards of yours? Why are you all alone? Why are they out and about? You do know a battlefield ain't usually the place for nobles, right?”

 _Except if you come from a wartorn future,_ she thought back to Lucina, Owain, Brady and Gerome. Then to Lord Chrom, Lissa and Maribelle. Wait, cross that thought. _Except if you're a Shepherd is more appropriate._

“And I thought mercenaries were sellswords who wouldn't lift a finger to help a poor village like this one. You do know that this village can't pay you for your services, right?” He snapped back.

She scowled. “I only have nobles like you pay for my services. I may be a mercenary but I have morals and that includes knowing the hardship of the poor and knowing they need protection.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you implying something with your words?”

“Oh, it wasn't clear?” She sassed. She tried to make it off as a jest. She was only joking but her tone did not convey that. “I thought nobles let poor villages like this burn to the ground. Or are you the 1%, milord?”

Ryoma’s face was stony.

Morgan scowled, mad that her tongue ran again. She really did do plenty dumb and/or impulsive things. This was just another to add to the list.

“Sorry.” Morgan muttered. “I shouldn't have said that.”

“You have bad experience with nobles, I see.” Ryoma said.

Morgan didn’t deny it. She did have bad experience with Lucina but she never generalized before. Damn, Morgan, mother will be disappointed in you.

“Sorry but you have to be at A-support level to get my backstory.”

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

“Wh-- Oh, Naga, we won't be moving on if we continue this. Let's just go and kill stuff.” Morgan groaned, leaving the two in her dust as she ran forward with both tome and sword in hand.

She heard Ryoma say, “Let's move.”

Damn, she should have just stayed hidden. She shouldn't have agreed to team up with this huge lord. Damn, Morgan. This is either very lucky or very unlucky of you. You made your mark. They probably won't call you Nohrian spy. But you were supposed to find your brother and get the hell out of this strange world. What would happen if this strange lord fucks up your search? What if your brother isn't in Hoshido? What happens if this strange lord fucks it up for you when you leave Hoshido and go to Nohr? Drats.

 _It's okay_ , she reasoned out. _As soon as the battle is over, we'll be saying goodbye and never see each other again. I'll just be a weirdo he meets on the street._

_\---_

The village was cleaned of all the Nohrian soldiers. Once their leader was killed, they've all retreated. Ryoma took helm to talk with the saved villagers. Morgan blended in the shadows and moved to where the tavern was located.

She could feel a presence behind her, likely one of Ryoma’s men tailing her. She ignored it to enter the tavern and hurry to where she knew she left them.

She yanked open the trap door and greeted the group below a smile. “Well, hello there.”

“You!” The tavern owner called. “That stupid mercenary!”

“What has happened?” It was the mother of the family. “Has the fighting finished?”

“Yes.” Morgan grinned smugly. “The Nohrian soldiers have retreated. I'd suggest surveying what's left behind.”

Cries of relief was abound.

The girl, Saki, was crying. “What about mama? Is mama okay?”

Her father shushed her.

Morgan gave a reassuring smile. “I'm sure she is. You need to hurry on out of there and check for yourself. There have been injured but I'm certain that those who were injured were able to hide before the soldiers got to them.”

A smile, a sob, and Morgan knew she made the right choice - no matter how dumb and/or impulsive it was.

She turned her back on them and moved to pick up her forgotten pack from the floor of the tavern. She looked at the contents and was grateful everything remained. She took out another Arcfire to replace the one she overused. Her mission was done and she needs to leave this village behind.

However, before she could actually leave unnoticed, Ryoma’s loud voice calling her name stopped her.

“Mercenary Mao!” He said.

Her head turned. She berated herself inside her mind. Still, she pretended to be aloof and nod in kind to the armored man.

“Yo!” She greeted. “I keep telling you to just call me Mao. If you keep this up, I might have to call you Mr. 1%.”

A sound of outrage was heard behind him and she looked on to see soldiers in red with their weapons out. She apparently offended their sensibilities when it comes to the red armored lord. She raised an eyebrow at this and looked back at Ryoma.

“Any problem here?” She asked. “I have other places to go to, you know?”

“Watch your mouth, wench!” A soldier cried out. Ryoma raised a hand to stop his men.

“Wench?” She laughed and her eyes narrowed at the soldier. A ‘fucking fight me, dastard’ was almost out of her mouth when Ryoma interjected by apologizing. Her eyes widened as she sputtered out an awkward laugh. “It’s okay,” she said.

“Milord!” The soldiers seemed to be shock.

Ryoma cut them off again. “As a representative of Hoshido, we want to thank you for your help.”

“No need.” She waved it off. “Now, I’m just gonna go - bye!”

But before she could leave, Ryoma stopped her. “I want to hire you.”

Now that stopped her. “Ahaha, nope, sorry. I’m currently not at the market for a job.” She said. “Thanks for the offer though.”

“How dare you speak so disrespectfully to his highness!?” A soldier cried out in outrage.

That made her pause. “Highness?” Her voice was incredulous. “What?”

“It seemed our introductions earlier were insufficient.” Ryoma said. “Shall we start over again?”

“Uhhh.”

“My name is Ryoma, the high prince of Hoshido. I ask again, would you like to work for me?” He said. “And I am willing to pay the price. I have seen you in battle and I believe your sword and magic will be useful to us.”

Morgan scratched her cheek. “Uhm, sorry, but prince or high prince or whatever,” she shook her head. “I’m a wandering mercenary. I help people. I don’t do big battles and wars, your… er, highness.”

 _Lord Lobster,_  Morgan’s unhelpful mind supplied.

 _Do not call him that,_ Morgan's common sense which sounds like Inigo berates her.

“Are you certain?” He said. “You are travelling in search for your brother, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah.” She remembered the awkward first meeting they had.

“And you have no idea where to go or where to start.” He added, confident.

“All right, I admit that.”

“Then, joining Hoshido will give you the assets to help find your brother.” He said. “And I am sure the monetary compensation won’t hurt a bit.”

Morgan sighed. “Why are you so insistent, anyway? Have you no sense of self-preservation?” A sound of outrage. “I’m a stranger - a mercenary, at that. You don’t just hire strange mercenaries without doing background checks on them! That’s just a stupid move!”

Only Lord Chrom would do something as stupid, her mind finished.

Noises of assent came from the soldiers.

“Is it not because you are a mercenary, and a powerful at that, that I should hire you before other groups like the Nohrian army get to you? You wield tomes and swords like it is part of your body. Our kingdom could use a mercenary like you. Especially now that the Nohrians are attacking our villages like this.”

Morgan was actually thinking about the offer. On one hand, she would have an in on this strange world via this equally strange lobster lord. On another hand, her search could go awry because of this offer of employment.

But she was getting tired of aimless search. Perhaps this would help her search for her brother.

She pursed her lips. “Fine.” She said. “But, considering I’m a tactician by trade and a mercenary by job, and the fact that you’re a prince, I’m adding a 10% increase in my usual noble price.”

“We shall confer about it then.” Ryoma nodded.

Morgan sighed, pulling her pack higher. She wondered if she would regret her decision. She needed to be wary of this strange prince. She may not have studied in the feet of Frederick the Wary in his ways of paranoia, but she was still in the presence of her brother who learned the arts of social anxiety and how to cover it up from her mother. He knew how to fuel one’s imagination on what could go wrong.

Oh well, Morgan was good with winging it.

She could just abandon this stupid prince if things go tough.

(That was a lie. Morgan was a freaking bleeding heart. She’d probably die for this stupid prince because he reminds her strangely of a more spiky and less dorky Lord Chrom.)

(A voice that sounded like her brother sighed at the back of her mind and tallied another to the list of dumb and/or impulsive things she'd done. The list was getting longer by the days she spends in this world.)

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe I was saying this was going to be a one-shot. Lol. Wild, right? Anyway, I'm torn with my character for Fates since I haven't played the game yet. I'm working with support convos and I'm not impressed with a lot of them. Okay, I admit I'm a sucker for Xander and Leo's but that's because I'm more of a Nohr girl. What the heck? Why did I put my baby girl in Hoshido then?
> 
> Anyways, Baby Inigo has Robin's Hair Color #9


End file.
